On Life, Books and More ……

Main menu

Book Review – Life Of Pi – Yann Martel

Life Of Pi was given to me by Rukun when I went to Random House India’s office. She told me its an amazing book and soon a movie is going to be released which is based on this book only. I kept it on shelf and thought I would read it sometime. When I saw the movie poster and got to know that Irrfan Khan is acting in it, I thought of picking it up and give it a read and I am so happy that I read this book and now I will definitely watch the movie as well.

Life is Pi is about the life of Piscine Molitor Patel. How he got christened to Pi, the story behind it is something that we all have seen in our lives at some point or the other. The first few pages of the book were pretty tough to sail through. I thought, I would drop this book but once the Life Of Pi began, I was totally hooked to it and kept reading it incessantly. Pi’s father, who is a director of a zoo in Pondicherry is the reason behind why Pi loves animals. The way Pi’s knowledge about animals and their behaviour gets built in the story touches your heart and then Pi’s encounter with different religions. How carefully the author has handled such a sensitive concept of following which religion and that too with the child who hasn’t seen the world and trying to adapt to everything that is coming in his way. I was totally floored with the way Yann Martel has dealt with the whole thing.

A lot more happens after that shipwreck in the Pacific. Pi with a zebra, a hyena, an orang-utan and a Royal Bengal tiger. His bond with all these wild animals and his praise-worthy courage in such tough situations. It left me wondering how all this would be shown in the movie. Considering how Ang Lee, a prominent name in the movie business would show everything, every emotion on the silver screen. I am sure it is going to be a great watch. On every page of the book, you would find something that will touch your heart and will give you food for thought. Compassion flows throughout the book and towards the end, you feel satisfied. That’s what a good book is all about. I strongly recommend people to read this one. Just give it a shot. Absorb everything what is written by Yann Martel and do watch the movie as well.